College World Series: LSU Tigers win national championship in College World Series

Chris Granger / The Times-PicayuneLSU pitcher Louis Coleman celebrates the Tigers' College World Series victory.

OMAHA, NEB. -- The LSU Tigers blew open a tight game with five runs in the sixth inning and held on to defeat Texas 11-4, winning its first national championship since 2000 and its sixth overall.

Rosenblatt Stadium erupted with Tiger euphoria as the final out was recorded.

In the post-game trophy presentations, Jared Mitchell was named the Most Outstanding Player of the College World Series. Most Tiger starters contributed to the dominating offensive show of force in Wednesday's game, and the season's ace starters, Anthony Ranaudo and Louis Coleman, bookended a pitching performance that kept the Longhorns off-balance most of the night.

A happy victory lap

Head coach Paul Mainieri held the NCAA national championship trophy aloft at 9:57 p.m., surrounded by the players who had just earned the trophy on the field with a best-of-three victory over the Texas Longhorns.

A large purple and gold championship flag was firmly planted in left-center field, as a formal trophy presentation ceremony was readied.

The Tigers' championship dogpile and the subsequent celebratory speeches and trophy presentations had a decidedly Mardi Gras look, taking place on the green grass of the Rosenblatt Stadium infield adorned with brilliant mettalic purple and gold streamers.

LSU players and coaches and members of their families lingered on the field for more than half an hour, savoring the moment, which twice was punctuated by fireworks.

Tigers are three outs away from championship

Sean Ochinko stroked a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning, and the Tigers hold a commanding 11-4 lead as Texas comes in to bat in the bottom of the inning.

Louis Coleman, one of the season's pitching stars, returned to the mound for a second inning of relief.

Coleman, Helenihi, Ochinko shut down Texas in 8th

Erstwhile starter Louis Coleman pitched the eighth inning for LSU. Backed by sterling defensive plays by third baseman Derek Helenihi and Sean Ochinko, Coleman limited the Longhorns to a harmless double as he shut them down.

As the Tigers prepared to bat in the 9th with a six-run lead, the excitement among LSU fans in the stadium was palpable.

Tigers push another run across in 8th

Austin Nola scored on a sacrifice fly to deep center field by Ryan Schimpf, and the Tigers upped their lead over Texas to 10-4 in the top of the eighth.

Texas reliever takes it on the shin

Chris Granger / The Times-PicayuneJared Mitchell is greeted at home by teammates after his first-inning home run put the LSU Tigers ahead 3-0 over Texas in Game 3 of the College World Series on Wednesday night in Omaha, Neb. Mitchell was voted the game's Most Outstanding Player.

Longhorns pitcher Austin Wood was struck on the shin by a D.J. LeMahieu line drive and injured in the top of the eighth inning.

The ball ricocheted off Wood's leg into foul territory front of the Tigers' first-base dugout. Austin Nola, who had opened the inning with a double, advanced to third, and LeMahieu was safe at first.

With runners on first and third, reliever Keith Shinaberry was summoned from the Texas bullpen to replace Wood.

Jones returns for a second inning

After the Tigers were retired 1-2-3 in the top of the seventh, reliever Chad Jones returned to the mound to pitch the bottom of the inning, no doubt to the dismay of Texas hitters. His pitching so far can only be described as intimidating, with a blazing fastball and dramatic movement on his curve.

Texas now facing the dreadlocks of doom

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, Chad Jones has relieved starter Anthony Ranaudo on the mound for LSU.

As he trotted off the field toward the LSU dugout, Ranaudo got a tremendous ovation from LSU fans throughout Rosenblatt Stadium.

Jones struck out both batters he faced with some of the nastiest stuff seen from LSU pitchers all season.

Don't mess with Texas? Think again

Best purple-and-gold College World Series T-shirt spotted in Rosenblatt Stadium tonight: "Tigers mess with Texas".

Tigers battle back to regain lead, 9-4 in 6th

After Texas evened the score 4-4 in the fifth inning, Mikie Mahtook drove in Jared Mitchell with a double, putting the Tigers ahead. Later in the inning, Mahtook scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Derek Helenihi, and the Tigers went ahead 6-4.

The Tigers loaded the bases on an error, a walk and a hit batter. With two out, Blake Dean got hit by a pitch as well, forcing in Micah Gibbs from third for the Tigers' seventh run.

WIth the bases still loaded, Sean Ochinko followed with a single to left, scoring two more runs, and putting the Tigers in control, 9-4.

LSU starter is struggling

Starting pitcher Anthony Ranaudo has held Texas to two runs in the first three innings, but he was not on top of his game early on.

Ranaudo has demonstrated control problems throughout the game. In the bottom of the third, he walked four Longhorns and gave up a double as Texas sent eight men to the plate. The Tigers had reliever Paul Bertuccini warming up during the inning, but Ranaudo closed out the inning and returned to the mound to pitch the fourth.

He threw 43 pitches in that extended third inning. After four innings, his pitch count is up to 86.

Longhorns get in gear

Texas got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning.

With two men on base, LSU centerfielder Mikie Mahtook made a nice, running catch on a Brandon Belt line drive, but the runners executed a double steal moments later. Cameron Rupp then grounded out to shortstop, driving home Travis Tucker from third, and the LSU lead was cut to 4-1.

The Longhorns went on to load the bases, and Preston Clark worked a walk in a 10-pitch at-bat to force in a second run.

Tigers add a run in 2nd inning

Micah Gibbs scored from third on a single to center by Ryan Schimpf, and LSU extended its lead over Texas to 4-0 in the top of the second.

Texas starting pitcher Cole Green hasn't fooled many Tiger hitters so far tonight. The Longhorns already have someone warming up in their bullpen.

Ranaudo gets fired up

Texas loaded the bases on LSU starting pitcher Anthony Ranaudo in the bottom of the first, but Ranaudo worked out of the jam in grand style.

Ranaudo struck out Longhorn rightfielder Kevin Keyes to end the inning. Teammates rushed out of the bullpen to congratulate him in much the same way they greeted Jared Mitchell at the plate after his big home run in the top of the inning.

First-inning heroics for LSU

Jared Mitchell put the Tigers ahead 3-0 in the top of the first wiith a home run down the right field line.

With Blake Dean on second and Sean Ochinko on first, Mitchell lined a 2-2 pitched down the line. The ball went over the wall just above the 335-foot sign and curved behind the right field foul pole.

The loud and proud LSU fans gave Mitchell a tremendous ovation when he trotted to right field to start the bottom of the first inning, and he responded by tipping his cap to them.

Hit or miss?

After two quick outs to start the game, the Tigers put a runner on first when designated hitter Blake Dean was hit by a Cole Green pitch. Or was he?

Dean thought so, and was more than halfway down the line toward first base before home plate umpire Perry Costello called him back. LSU coach Paul Mainiere rushed out to argue that Dean had indeed been hit on the instep by the pitch.

Costelle huddled with the other infield umpires momentarily, then awarded Dean first base.

Gibbs had been the cleanup hitter in every College World Series game before this one.

It's not the heat, it's... ah, well, it IS the heat

That mid-afternoon shower didn't do enough to tamp down the blazing heat in downtown Omaha.

Tickets for tonight's final game for the national championship are not the only hot commodity around here. Shade is a precious commodity in Rosenblatt Stadium, and anyone sitting in the sunshine already is sweating buckets, guaranteed.

On an elevator ride between the press box and the concourse at Rosenblatt Stadium, former LSU coach and athletic director Skip Bertman had to wipe his brow with his handkerchief before he could get a word out, and then he declared, "This is the hottest it's been here in 20 years."

He should know.

Beautiful day for a ballgame

A tremendous thunderstorm doused Omaha between 2:30 and 3 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and got the attention of baseball fans throughout the city. More than a few die-hard fans from Louisiana had to wonder, at least briefly, if the game might be postponed and they would have to further extend their stay here in America's heartland.

Forty-five minutes before game time, though, the sky over Omaha and neighboring Council Bluffs, Iowa, is a brilliant blue, and there is hardly a cloud to be seen. It's a beautiful day for a ballgame, indeed.